Without a Shadow of a doubt
by Popkov
Summary: An idea that I couldn't get out of my head so i put it out here. Heh. Let me know what you think, ne?
1. Chapter 1

**Without a Shadow of a doubt**

Chapter 1

"Prologue"

"Due to the current emergency situation, all phone lines have been suspended."

With a sigh, Shinji put down the receiver.

"It's no use. Seems it's just us here, Shadow." - he said, turning to his companion, a tall black Hedgehog with red stripes known as Shadow the Hedgehog. He noticed Shadow looking intently in the direction of the road behind them. - "What is it?"

"… For a moment… No. It's nothing." - Shadow replied hesitantly. Then he turned back to Shinji - "Are you really sure about this, Shinji?"

Shinji crouched down and fondly pated Shadow's head.

"Thanks, Shadow." - Shinji said, smiling

"For what?"

"For always being there for me."

Shadow simply closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of content that washed over him.

Then came the explosion.

"What was that?" - exclaimed Shinji. Looking anxiously around

"… That."

Looking in the direction Shadow was pointing, Shinji witnessed something that made him freeze in place. A number of VTOLs appeared from behind the tall skyscrapers of Tokyo-3, followed by this… thing. It was gigantic! It was of a roughly humanoid shape, with a strange beaked mask for a face. It was shrugging off the VTOLs with impunity by putting up a hexagonal field and projecting some sort of energy "lances" out of its hands.

Suddenly Shadow tackled Shinji and they both vanished, mere moments before one of the VTOLs crashed in the exact spot they just vacated. The duo reappeared a dozen or so meters in front of it, warily getting on their feet.

"Hey, look, it's her!" - Shinji exclaimed, pointing forward. Sure enough a Blue Renault was speeding towards them. Shinji waved at it. - "Let's go, Shadow!"

The Renault's screeched to a halt in front of them, with the passenger door facing them, which flew ajar, revealing a purple-haired woman who yelled "Get in". Shinji leaped into the front passenger seat, slamming the door behind him. Shadow opted to teleport into the back seat. And so they sped away.

"By the way, I'm Misato Katsuragi. Welcome to Tokyo-3, Shinji-kun." - Misato introduced herself

"Thank you Katsuragi-san."

"Please, Misato is fine."

"Alright, Misato. Thanks again. What was that thing?"

"An angel."

"An angel?"

"Yup! That's what NERV exists to fight against, in order to protect all mankind."

"For a race considered worth protecting, you sure find enemies easily." - remarked Shadow.

"Well that- WHAAAT? WHAT THE HELL IS..? - Misato exclaimed, all but losiing control of the car in her amazement.

"Misato…!" - Shinji attempted, in vain, to return her focus to the road.

"EYES ON THE ROAD, WOMAN!" - Shadow barked.

And so Misato did focus back on driving, just in time to avoid running into a tree.

"Misato I would like you to meet Shadow the Hedgehog." - Shinji introduced his friend.

"N-nice to meet you" - Misato said nervously

"Hmpf"

"Ah don't worry, he's always like that." - Shinji said, smiling at Shadow, whose gave him the "like what?" look.

And so the bizarre situation in the car was stabilized.

"Speaking of, what is my father up to?" - asked Shinji.

"He's actually the head of the whole operation." - answered Misato, noticing the… lack of emotion when Shinji spoke of the Commander. It was as if, he was enquiring about a complete stranger.

"Oh and he sent me this." - Shinji said, handing Misato his NERV ID

Some time later, Misato stopped to take the stock of the Angel situation. She watched silently through her binoculars for a minute, but then…

"No way! They're going to use an N2? Get down!" - She exclaimed, throwing herself on top of Shinji. The resulting shockwave was strong enough to lift up and send it spinning through the air. When the dust settled in, Shinji found his head pressed firmly into Misato's chest.

"Enjoying yourself?" - asked Shadow. Only Shinji could discern the slight amusement in his voice.

When they climbed out of the car, Misato was devastated at the amount of damage. They were able to get it going alright, after flipping it over and 'borrowing' some batteries.

"Alright! Next stop: NERV!" - Misato exclaimed as she pushed the Renault to top speeds.

… TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. Chapter 2

**Without a Shadow of a doubt**

Chapter 2

"Hopeless"

"It seems there is something you're worse at than driving, woman" - Shadow said contemptuously.

"Oh yeah, mister Smart Guy? Well then, can YOU tell us where we're supposed to go?" - Misato huffed. She was getting tired of his attitude.

"No." - Shadow answered

"Ha!" - Misato exclaimed triumphantly

"But I do know we passed that elevator at least twice." - Shadow added, motioning with his head.

Misato looked like she was going to explode. Moments later, however, it was the discovered that the elevator in question was the one they were supposed to use. Grumbling under her breath, she set off for it. Inside she couldn't contain herself.

"What the hell are you grinning about?" - she demanded. True enough, Shinji was all smiles.

Before he could answer, the door opened to reveal…

"Ah… hey, Ritsuko." - Misato welcomed the newcomer, smiling sheepishly at the irritated look she got.

Ritsuko was around Misato's age and height. She had somewhat short blonde hair and green eyes. Strangely, she was clad in a blue swimsuit, with only a white lab coat over it.

"What are you doing, Captain Katsuragi?" - Ritsuko asked, annoyed - "Are you not aware that this has become a battlefield? What are you doing, wasting time like this?"

"Sorry!" - Misato apologized. Ritsuko huffed in response.

"Is this the boy?" - she asked, appraising Shinji.

"Yes. According to Marduk report, he is the Third Child." - Misato answered

"Uhm… Shinji Ikari. Nice to meet you" - Shinji introduced himself, bowing slightly. He only got a nod of acknowledgement from Ritsuko.

"Not at all like his father, is he?" - Misato said, surprisingly fondly

"Not at all…" - Ritsuko said softly, more to herself than as a response. Then she caught a glance of Shadow behind Shinji. She said, somewhat sternly - "Pets are not allowed on NERV territory. Misato you should have…"

"Let's get one thing straight, doctor." - Shadow interrupted her. As he stepped out from behind Shinji, arms crossed, looking her in the eye, he added - "I don't like being called names."

"Oi, oi. Relax, Shadow" - Shinji said, patting the angry hedgehog's head, soothing the latter's anger somewhat. Then he added, amusement clear in his voice - "I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it."

Like the smart woman she was, Ritsuko withheld all and any questions she had. The silence that followed had lasted until they reached their destination. When the doors opened they revealed nothing but darkness. A little apprehensive, Shinji and Shadow followed the two women. Suddenly the light went on and they found themselves face to face with…

"Evangelion, Unit 01" - Ritsuko said, with pride - "Man's ultimate humanoid fighting machine."

Shinji felt a pull on his hand. Looking down he saw Shadow's agitated face.

"What is it?" - he asked.

"I don't like this, Shinji. This… this thing. It's… Alive, somehow." - he looked at Unit-01 with a strange emotion etched on his face. It was something between suspicion and fear.

'Fear?' Shinji thought to himself, 'What is it that he fears from this thing?'. He suddenly saw the Evangelion in a very different light.

"Uhm… Doctor Akagi, this… Evangelion… it…?"

"Mankind's last hope!" - a voice interrupted.

Looking up, Shinji could see his father, Gendo Ikari, in plain view, yet hidden, behind a pane of glass.

"And you" - Gendo continued, pointing at his son - "Will pilot it!"

There came a sound. Soft at first but it quickly got louder. Misato and Ritsuko were shocked to see Shinji laughing uproariously. Shadow ignored the whole situation his whole attention still rooted to Unit-01. And Gendo… well, what can I say, nothing ever surprises the bastard anymore does it?

"You've got to be kidding me." - Shiji said at last. His voice was surprisingly calm. - "You expect me to get into this thing and _pilot_ it?"

"Yes."

"What, you couldn't find anyone else? You had to call me, who you abandoned 10 years ago?"

"Will you do it or not?"

Instead of responding, Shinji crossed his arms. Then…

"CHAOS SPEAR" - Shadow let loose a purple energy bolt that went right through the glass, passing only inches away from Gendo's head and hit the wall behind him, leaving a considerable hole.

"Let's go, Shadow." - Shinji said, as he turned around and headed to the elevator. Shadow gave Gendo one of his rare grins and followed the boy.

With a somewhat shaky hand Gendo reached for the console in front of him

"Fuyutsuki"

"Yes?" - the old man's face came up on the monitor.

"Bring out Rei"

"Can we still use her?"

"She's not dead"

"Understood"

"W-what? Rei?" - Misato couldn't help but cry out.

Shinji stopped. Turning to face the source of the commotion he froze at the sight of the gurney bearing a heavily bandaged blue-haired girl being wheeled in.

'What the hell?' - he wondered

"Rei, you will pilot Unit-01." - Gendo announced, in answer to his thoughts.

"Yes" - Rei replied faintly.

'No way! How…?' - then it hit him - 'Ha. So that's how it's going to be eh? You're a cold-hearted man, father. No… Gendo.'

"You win." - Shinji called out

"What was that, boy?" - Gendo asked, contempt all to evident in his voice.

"I will pilot that damn thing. But!" - Shinji pointed at Gendo - "Don't be mistaken! I'm not doing for you! I'm doing it to stop you hurting anymore innocent people, you bastard!"

Gendo was about to reply when an explosion rocked the chamber, causing quite a substantial amount of debris to rain on the hapless people inside it.

Without a second thought, Shinji dashed over to Rei, whose gurney was overturned by the shockwave. Sliding onto the floor next to her he wrapped her in his arms protectively.

"CHAOS SPEAR" - a pair of larger purple energy bolts have collided with the debris, sending it flying behind Unit-01. A small portion hit Gendo's glass pane, shattering it completely. In the silence that followed, Shinji's distressed voice echoed through the chamber.

"Doctor! She's bleeding!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Without a Shadow of a doubt**

Chapter 3

"Zero Tolerance"

DISCLAIMER

Yes, I know I said the chaos spear was purple. Sue me. I'm sticking to it. All chaos/chaos control related powers will have purple particle effects. But for his running and jumping trails I will be using his standard orange. You have been warned. DO NOT pester me about it again. Thank you.

END DISCLAIMER

"You. Katsuragi. Where is the shaft which you'll use to deploy your mecha."

Shock dulled Misato's sense of irritation, and before she knew it she responded with a half-mumble and a raised arm. When she realized what had happened, the hedgehog was gone.

'And good riddance' - she thought, annoyed. If only she were to look up, she would see Shadow ascending the shaft like a bouncing ray of orange light.

When he was finally top-side, Shadow headed to the nearest relatively intact building and ran up the wall all the way to the rooftop. Once there he started looking around for the angel. The thing was not hard to spot. It was less than a few hundred meters away. It stood there, unnaturally still, only its head moving from side to side, as if it was looking for something. Despite the dark, Shadow tried his best to study the angel in detail.

Before he could do so however he caught a movement in the corner of his eye. It was a small figure, dashing from cover to cover, etching closer to the Angel. For a brief moment, the figure left the shadows and was illuminated by in the pale moonlight. Shadow's breath caught in his lungs. It was a little girl.

The little girl in question has stopped, having reached the perfect vantage point for the upcoming battle. Giggling, she peeked around the pile of rubble she was hiding behind. Suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. After a moment of shock, she began to kick, but just as she was about to scream, a hand covered her mouth. Without a moment's hesitation she sunk her teeth into it. Then there something pressed painfully against the nape of her neck and darkness enveloped her.

When she woke up, she was shocked by the changes around her. She was still in the same place, she could tell. But it was different now. There was… a lot more space around her. In fact, there was nothing around her in at least a 10 meter radius, the piles of rubble beyond that forming a perfect circle. But she did not notice all that. All she noticed was a boy who was rushing towards her. He was around 14 with brown hair, clad in a track suit; he was waving and calling the girl's name. When he reached her a few moments later, he hugged her tightly, as if she was the most precious thing in his world.

"I'm sorry…" - the little girl started crying, feelings of foolishness, fear and relief washing over her all at once - "Onii-chan."

Shinji woke with a start. The first thing that greeted him was a white ceiling.

'W-what… Where am i?" - confusion covered his thoughts like a fine mist, blurring them. It took him several panic-stricken seconds to rationalize his new surroundings.

He was in a hospital room. He felt fine physically, but felt emotionally exhausted. In hindsight he noted that he was only clad in a hospital gown. Under normal circumstances he would spend minutes trying to drive out all the dirty thought on the subject. His memory was like a slippery eel, evading his grasp just as he got hold of them. He sat up, groaning; he felt like he has literally aged years.

"You're awake. Good." - came a voice from beside him.

Looking to his left he saw Shadow standing there, looking down at him.

'Hang on…' - Shinji quickly realized the reason for that. Apparently, Shadow nicked a chair from one of the offices, took the back off, set the seat as low as it could go, and was using it as an impromptu podium. - 'What is he trying to do, impress me?'

Shinji almost laughed at the thought. Almost, because just at that moment he glanced into the hedgehog's eyes, and saw too plainly the worry and fear in them. He felt a lump in his throat; tears blurred his vision as the memories of the battle jumped at him like a pack of rabid dogs, tearing at him from all sides. A wordless scream tore from his mouth, and he grasped his head in his hands, feeling as if it was going to explode. Not a moment later he felt another pair of hands around his and something soft touching the top of his forehead.

The entire wall shook as Shadow punched it angrily, leaving a sizeable dent.

"Oi, oi, Shadow…" - Shinji cautioned, trying to calm down the angry hedgehog

"DO NOT say that it's 'fine'!" - Shadow yelled, making Shinji flinch - "Just… don't."

For some reason, Shinji's reaction was to smile. He couldn't help himself. Something as simple as having someone care, _truly_ care, about you was enough to lift the clouds of all but the darkest of moods.

"I'm alive aren't I?" - Shinji attempted again to placate his friend. Almost reluctantly, Shadow nodded. - "Then that is all that matters, is it not?"

"But…"

"Look we'll face whatever comes later… later. But most importantly…" - he beckoned Shadow to come closer. He reached out and placed his hand on top of Shadow's head, holding it there firmly - "we'll face it together. Like we always have."

And so they remained for some time. Two friends, who were almost brothers, if not by blood then in spirit. Come what may, whatever darkest nightmare awaited them, they knew that they could rely on no-one but each other. Physical exhaustion having finally caught up with him, Shinji lay back down.

"Can I at least beat him up?" - Shadow asked, cracking his knuckles. It was reasonable to say that Gendo might have peed his pants if he saw the pure _evil_ grin on Shadow's face.

"No." - Shinji answered, chuckling. With a yawn, he added - "Scaring him would not be so bad though."

And with that he retreated back to peaceful slumber. He was not happy; he doubted he would ever truly be happy. But he felt content, at peace with himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Without a Shadow of a doubt**

Chapter 4

"Priority Seating"

Shadow strolled casually through the medical wing, ignoring all the staring, pointing and murmuring around him.

He stopped in front of a door, and, after a moment's hesitation he warped inside. The door's label read "Ayanami Rei".

If the girl was surprised by the sight of a tall hedgehog suddenly materializing in her room, she didn't show it. Shadow crossed his arms as he appraised her. Rei simply stared at him blankly.

"So then what happened?" - Shinji asked, intrigued.

"Nothing" - Shadow replied. He seemed troubled by something, silently mumbling to himself.

"What is it?"

"… Nothing"

The mumbling ceased. The troubled look remained. Shinji shrugged. 'He'll tell me eventually'

The rest of the day was uneventful. They had a visit from Ritsuko and Misato; the former for a regular check-up and to tell him that he should "stay here until tomorrow"; the latter to see how her new star pilot was doing. Shinji opted to stay in his dorm, sleeping or chatting to Shadow. Of course, Shinji was doing most of the talking, with Shadow simply nodding, frowning and replying with single-syllable remarks.

The next day Shinji was discharged from the hospital with a clean bill of health. The next step was figuring out where they would live and… well… on what money. The latter will have turned out to be a surprisingly sizeable salary. As to the former…

"Here to give us another tour, Captain?" - Shadow inquired sardonically as Misato came to pick them up.

"Hey, Shinji, glad to see you're already up and about" - Misato opted to ignore the ever-present spiked source of her irritation - "I'm here to take you up for accommodation assignment" - and with that they headed for the elevator.

As the elevator doors opened, they revealed none other than Gendo Ikari. Time seemed to freeze. Then the doors closed again. Shinji took a deep breath. Then he turned and headed for the stairs. Shadow's mouth curled into an evil grin and then he was gone.

It took the staff a solid couple of hours to get the esteemed Commander Ikari out of the elevator that somehow inexplicably got stuck between the two top floors of the hospital.

"Are you really alright with this?" - Misato just refused to accept the notion of a young boy like him living on his own.

"To be honest, I wanted this" - Shinji explained - "I'll be damned if I have to live with my father, and-"

"-We don't trust anyone at this place" - Shadow interjected - "Nothing personal. Just kind of hard to have warm fuzzy feelings for people who would willingly put children into combat"

"Believe me; we are not doing it by choice…!" - Misato bit back all the curses that immediately jumped into her mind. She was always sensitive to that particularly unsavory, if necessary, aspect to their operations.

"I believe you, Captain" - as he and Shinji turned to leave, he added over his shoulder- "_Do you_?"


End file.
